Video games are an international phenomenon. According to a recent documentary, there were over 800,000,000 active video game players worldwide in 2005. Popular in-home game systems include the Wii™, Play Station™, X-Box™, PC, and Game Cube™. Video game play over the Internet is also extremely popular and growing.
Many players desire a method in which they can pit their skills against another player. Certain Internet-based game sites provide a ladder-type ranking system, which ranks players according to the score they generate on a hosted game. Examples include YAHOO!® GAMES, msn® games, MY GAMING LADDER and Gaming Scripts. Electronic Arts™ is one of the largest game manufacturers in the world. Each of their games has its own individual ladder, EA™ calls its ladders “leaderboards.” One of EA™'s most popular games is BATTELFIELD 2: MODERN COMBAT™ and its leaderboard can be viewed on its website.
Ser. No. 11/112,291, of which this is a continuation-in-part, describes a new ladder system for video games that improves upon the vertical style ranking ladders in use currently. Among other improvements, it adds a horizontal element to a vertical ladder system, to allow more than one player to be placed on a single tier. Among other things this would permit participation by players in substantially higher numbers than may be effectively accommodated in a simple vertical ranking structure. It provides other improvements as well, including a system for compensating defenders and, in general, professionalizing video gaming.
The present application adds additional features that are intended to further enhance the competitive video gaming experience.